


The New Life

by cruisedirector, CyberMum



Category: Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: Community: KMAS, F/M, Literary Reference, Poetry, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2002-02-01
Updated: 2002-02-01
Packaged: 2017-10-06 23:28:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/58894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cruisedirector/pseuds/cruisedirector, https://archiveofourown.org/users/CyberMum/pseuds/CyberMum
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An epic poem in rhyme royal written for Now Voyager.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The New Life

This epic poem of passion lost and found  
Derives from Paramount. Sing, Muse, in praise!  
May spring ratings on UPN rebound,  
And Dean Valentine give himself a raise.  
We tell their tale in humble paraphrase,  
Lest this imperfect parody we write  
Should violate Viacom's copyright.

And should this rhyme royal verse vex the reader,  
Forfend our good intentions be mistook,  
Please note that we took our cue from the leader  
Of Voyager - the Captain's favorite book,  
Dante's _La Vita Nuova_. Go look:  
The stanzas of his Comedy Divine  
Follow this metric pattern line for line.

On Janeway and Chakotay we reflect,  
Voyager's faithful captain and first mate.  
Has Star Trek seen a couple more perfect,  
Well-matched in temperament, in valor great,  
And bonded star-crossed by hand of fate?  
Yet cruelly has their romance been repressed  
By hack writers of talent little blessed.

When these two met at first, they were opposed.  
The quarry and the hunter roles they played.  
She found his rebel ship and she proposed  
A partnership. He claimed he was betrayed.  
But when the situation was surveyed  
A union of their crews was deemed to be  
The only option that the two could see.

This combination did evoke response  
That shocked and frightened scribes who did travail  
At Paramount. There was no renaissance.  
No concession to that spark that might entail  
The telling of their epic journey's tale  
As a love song. No, they chose another path  
That would bring upon them unanticipated wrath.

For as we watched the Captain form her crew  
And as we saw Chakotay take his place  
We saw our screens light up with fire. We knew  
What they had wrought had caused us to embrace  
This heroic pair so lost in space.  
We sighed and listened as they did entrance  
Us with a ritualistic lover's dance.

Yet has their passion sadly grown lukewarm  
Here near the climax of this season five.  
Before doing irreparable harm  
To these screen characters who once did thrive  
On chemistry no meek scribe could contrive,  
We summon the recourse which now does seem  
The TV standard: make it all a dream.

Thus journey with us back to season two,  
As fondly we imagine the rebirth  
Of Voyager, had "Basics I &amp; II"  
Not followed in the footsteps of New Earth.  
We join our heroes, now knee-deep in mirth  
And in the muck of Kathryn's garden dirt  
Where they cultivate vegetables, and flirt.

Her thoughts are centered on the night before:  
His talk of love had taken the disguise  
Of legendary warriors of lore  
His truth reflected in obsidian eyes.  
Her hand that laced with his then signifies  
Her own admission of her adoration;  
He is, if truth be told, her sweet salvation.

And he, in turn, at play amidst the vines  
Reflects and smiles upon his good fortune  
Then asks her with a grin that redefines  
The beauty of a golden harvest moon,  
"My love, I have a plan for afternoon.  
If you would tell me what you think of this  
I might extract one long-forbidden kiss."

'Midst seedlings of tomatoes of Talax,  
The flame-tressed lady quickly hides a smile,  
For lest her guard she too soon should relax,  
No more with teasing could she then beguile  
Her warrior faithful to a lover's trial.  
Thus placing hands upon her slender hips,  
She speaks: "Chakotay, if you crave my lips,

Impress me with this scheme you now concoct,  
But let there be no talk of skinny-dipping!"  
Her first mate chuckles. "Captain, I am shocked!  
Though at your taunting words my heart is skipping,  
I had thought rather that we might go tripping  
Through these woods to the river's swollen shore:  
Like scientists, we shall its banks explore."

"Oh dear companion of my forced exile  
You've found the key that will unlock my heart,"  
And with those words another saucy smile  
Crosses her features as she does impart  
Instructions for a navigational chart.  
But at that very moment as they plan  
Fate intervenes: the voice of a Vulcan.

His monotone invades their idyll sweet  
With news of a Vidiian fever cure,  
Intones the nearing time when they will meet,  
Apologizes for the slight detour,  
Explains the trial with which they did procure  
The antidote that might it seems put paid  
To the lover's game that of late they've played.

An end thus to Chakotay's newfound bliss,  
His heart aches as the comm falls silent. Then,  
At Kathryn's glance, "You still owe me a kiss,"  
And clasps her hand in fellowship again.  
For moments he sees only the Captain.  
But melancholy melts her sterner eyes,  
And softens her raised lips to his surprise.

"My angry warrior, know I cannot give  
To you alone my heart. I pledged an oath:  
For my crew have I vowed to die and live,  
For no one in exchange to plight my troth.  
Here you stand by my side. Can I have both,  
Allegiance prior promised of my crew,  
And the true meaning of peace lodged in you?"

"Ah, Kathryn I will not beg you to break  
A promise made. To ask that of you would  
Betray us all. My love, I will forsake  
My dreams of us; my hopes have long withstood  
All the trials and the obstacles that could  
Lead to the separation of our lives."  
She smiles at this and fantasy survives.

The sparkling beam of Voy'ger does transport  
The unrequited lovers as they stand  
Together in their hearts and yet apart  
So willing to give in to the demand  
Of the protocols of their ship's command.  
But wait, is not the purpose of this verse  
To compose an alternate universe?

Thus back aboard their ship, their hearts united  
Yet torn asunder by their sacrifice,  
Knowing their mutual desire requited  
Yet hopeless after tasting paradise,  
Each privately determines that the price  
To keep the protocol they typify  
Through stiff-necked decorum may be too high.

So well past bridge call as he lies in bed  
With tormented dreams keeping him from sleep,  
Chakotay's thoughts of what he could have said  
To draw her near are silenced by a beep.  
Summoned to the holodeck does he creep,  
Wherein his lady awaits with a speech.  
Raising her shapely chin, she does beseech:

"My brave and angry warrior, might I ask  
Of you this question that torments me now:  
How can we both continue with this masque?  
My own true love I cannot disavow.  
I thought to sublimate - to disallow  
These urges that I find within my heart  
But cannot find the will to break apart."

And here as poets we must interject  
And point out to the readers we might see...  
Those of course who enthuse to our subject  
As well we hope, as The Powers That Be  
That one can maintain credibility  
Words can indeed be written, give a glance  
To add to Trek an aura of romance.

Chakotay, noble hero of this saga,  
Is unafraid romance leads to oblivion--  
Unlike exec producer Brannon Braga,  
Who thinks love causes one to act amphibian,  
And therefore writes sexual stories plebeian  
For apathetic fifteen-year-old geeks.  
Kneeling by his captain, the Maquis speaks:

"Kathryn, our strength has always been combined,  
The merger of our joint goal and our will.  
Should protocol our partnership unbind,  
I fear our quest for home will come to nil.  
We have the same committment to fulfill,  
And since our duty's burdens we must share,  
Surely we would be stronger as a pair."

She nods and her joy now is plain to see.  
His words and thoughts have base in logic sound:  
As two they'll better face their destiny  
When their lives and hearts are together bound.  
"We'll face the world as one, we will confound  
Naysayers both on board and in the suits;  
We'll brook no interference or disputes."

With these words Kathryn offers to her love  
Those lips that he has craved since first he'd seen,  
That he's been dreaming - fantasizing of  
Since the moment she appeared on his viewscreen.  
And at that instant who should intervene?  
Vulcan Tuvok, his voice a monotone.  
Chakotay sighs, "It seems we must postpone."

Yet after the vow she has just proclaimed,  
The captain chooses to brook no delay,  
And before her emotions can be tamed  
She quickly kisses joyful Chakotay.  
The warp core breaches! The crew blows away!  
Just kidding. For although she may see stars,  
The ship survives their passion with no scars.

"Ahem," repeats the pointy-eared intruder,  
Having heard on the comm their moans and sighs,  
"Captain, my call untimely may seem ruder  
Since of a new concern I must apprise:  
A signal, which our scan identifies  
As Kazon, has been beamed towards the ship.  
Its presence may not be a sensor blip."

A breathless "On my way." A gentle touch  
Assures him of the promise of her lips.  
"You know I must respond to this as such  
Occurrence any passion must eclipse."  
This reappearance of Kazon outstrips  
Any of the needs that might arise  
From the look he has glimpsed in Kathryn's eyes.

Upon the Bridge the senior staff await  
Decryption of this unknown transmission.  
The ship's Captain and her tattooed First Mate  
Arrive on deck and assume position.  
They turn to face the Vulcan logician:  
"Tuvok, have you analyzed the data  
Contained in this unusual schemata?"

Ensign Kim's voice causes a disruption,  
Heads turn to face the officer at Ops.  
"Captain, please excuse this interruption  
But I believe the signal level drops  
To reveal a beacon pulsing non-stop.  
The tone and calibration of this beat  
Leads to the conclusion it is Starfleet."

"A Starfleet signature, a Kazon beacon?"  
This mixed news gives the First Officer pause.  
Kim's enthusiasm begins to weaken  
As all gathered officers guess the cause.  
"I know of only one whose knowledge draws  
On both Alpha and Delta Quadrant tech:  
It's Seska's work that interrupts our trek."

Seska, nemesis of Janeway's command  
And thief of Chakotay's own DNA -  
The senior staff wonders what new demand  
The traitor's message might wish to convey.  
"We should ignore it, and be on our way,"  
Chakotay says, expecting threats and taunts.  
Sighs the captain, "We should hear what she wants."

She orders Kim to open a channel,  
And Seska's image flickers overhead  
Kim makes small adjustments on a panel  
So all can hear just what will soon be said.  
"If you are watching this, then I am dead.  
But Chakotay, you must these words believe  
I leave our child for you to retrieve...

I know from the Doctor's scans you will think  
He's Culluh's. But Chakotay, he is yours,  
I swear. I made a trans-organic link  
And changed all the bio-genetic scores.  
Check. You will see your DNA endures."  
(Aside: Another plot the writers missed -  
Dramatic opportunity dismissed.)

"To find your son, you must head to the heart  
Of Kazon-Nistrim space. If you explore  
The nearest sector to you on the chart,  
You'll find the Hanan system. Hanan Four  
Is where our son is. An ambassador  
Who worked for me will take you to the place  
Where Culluh hid the child from his own race."

Chakotay shakes his head. "This can't be true."  
But Janeway takes him to her ready room.  
"If we go on without him, I fear you  
Will burn with doubt that will your thoughts consume.  
It might be a trap, but we must assume  
Her son may be your child. If it's true,  
And you would seek him out, I stand with you."

She ponders for a while as he does pace,  
And then she issues one more directive.  
She turns to him, a smile upon her face -  
"I've made a calculation corrective,  
I believe that this will be effective  
In determining the truth of Seska's claim:  
I still assume disruption is her game."

She quickly enters some coordinates;  
He nods. He trusts her instincts once again.  
He waits, and his hope he subordinates.  
The she smiles once more and starts to explain:  
"I questioned a return to that domain  
And thought that Seska might try to control  
Our approach to a critical wormhole.

I've reversed the figures she transmitted  
And I have plotted an opposite course  
If we had followed the route she submitted  
We'd encounter gravitational force.  
We must carefully consider the source.  
There is no child, Chakotay, but instead  
A way home - and we will not be misled."

Chakotay checks the data himself, sees  
The astronomical figures are clear:  
The Kazon route is littered with debris,  
While the wormhole is less than a light year  
Past the next system. Gravometric shear  
Could make their trip through dangerous, but he  
Thinks only of the home they may soon see.

The course set for the journey hours hence,  
The shields enhanced, the thrusters are firing,  
Inertial dampers set for turbulence,  
The engineering crew completes wiring  
For EPS enhancement. It's inspiring  
To have the end in sight, to know its worth:  
A last push which could take them back to Earth.

A burst of light from the anomaly,  
Voyager heads once more unto the breach,  
The ship compressed by forceful gravity,  
The shields protect the hull against a breach,  
Till the end of the passage it can reach.  
To the Alpha Quadrant the ship is thrown...  
Deep inside the Demilitarized Zone.

Now our scribes face a new predicament  
The Alpha Quadrant. Home is close at hand.  
How can they incorporate this event  
Into a ratings triumph and withstand  
The anger of that very vocal band  
Of Trek fans who will most surely critique  
And threaten to stop watching every week?

Of course. We'll give them what they want to see:  
Battle Royale will Voyager now wage  
With explosions, confrontations, Maquis  
Warriors, and Cardassians to engage,  
And this those teen-aged geeks should well assuage.  
Voyager is already battle-scarred  
But she enters in the fray no-holds-barred.

To their surprise, no Cardassian foe  
Comes to meet Voyager, nor to engage.  
It is instead the Captain's private woe  
When Starfleet Command orders that she cage  
Her dissidents. She puts aside outrage,  
And calmly tells the admirals that she  
Will imprison not a single Maquis.

Only after this terse communique  
Do Voyager's aft sensors spring to life:  
Starfleet had negotiated away  
The rebel crew's rights, to avert the strife  
Of further Cardassian struggle, rife  
With the threat of civilian war. Yet they  
Had not counted on resourceful Janeway.

She gathers her intrepid staff around  
With total intention of defending  
All the crew. Her suggestion does astound  
Them. She says, "Consider the impending  
Trials that are to come. The never-ending  
Questions we must answer. An alliance  
With Cardassia? We'd have little chance.

So our options for survival are few.  
Under no circumstance will I allow  
Even one single member of this crew  
To be detained. I made a solemn vow.  
One time I gave this crew a choice, and now  
Here is another: To battle our own  
Kind, or return now to the Delta zone."

Before a single crewmember can speak,  
The ship is rocked by a violent blast.  
Back to their posts the officers now streak,  
The viewscreen shows a nightmare from their past:  
A Cardassian warship, closing fast.  
Torpedos armed and phasers standing by,  
Janeway hails the enemy. No reply.

A sudden ripple...and the ship is gone!  
The crew looks to the captain for advice  
As on the staff it now begins to dawn  
Their foes are using a cloaking device.  
The new intelligence is not precise:  
Does Starfleet know that the Cardassians  
Seem to have gained the tech of Romulans?

"Captain, these readings seem to indicate  
This cloak is like none we have ever seen.  
It isn't Romulan; in fact, I'd state  
That while it could be Borg or even Breen,  
Recent reports by a Captain Bentene  
Warn Starfleet that their new foe The Dominion  
Have cloaks which work similarly to this one."

"B'Elanna," Janeway hails engineering,  
"Do we still have the Voth phase shift device?"  
"Aye, Captain and we have been re-gearing  
It to our own specs just for this precise  
Type of situation." Her orders concise  
Janeway now instructs her crew to engage  
The enemy. One last fight they must wage.

Voyager flies fearlessly in the face  
Of the Cardassian ship. She prevails  
As we know she will, with much style and grace.  
They board the vanquished ship. Chakotay hails  
The Captain: "I have proof here that entails  
Evidence the pact that Cardassia made  
With Starfleet is merely a charade."

Janeway quickly contacts Starfleet Command  
An obvious solution to propose  
That will allow them to reach their homeland.  
"I hereby promise you we won't expose  
That treachery if you will not oppose  
My crew's re-entry and welcome to Earth.  
You must surely agree they've proved their worth."

Despite some protest from Admiral Ross,  
Who insists the Maquis must all debrief  
Before to their home planets they may cross,  
Headquarters takes these terms, to great relief.  
While some Maquis express their disbelief,  
Most of the crew are finally overcome  
With happiness: they've done it. They are home.

Escorted through the Alpha Quadrant by  
An honor guard led by the Enterprise,  
To the Sol system Voyager will fly  
Until it orbits high above Earth's skies,  
Where the familiar oceans mesmerize  
The captain, waiting in her ready room  
With her first officer in dress costume.

"You've done it, Kathryn. You have brought us home."  
"We have done it, Chakotay. Together."  
"What now, Kathryn? Now we no longer roam  
Through the Delta Quadrant and the nether  
Regions of deep space, dare I ask whether  
We have a future?" She reaches up to  
Gently trace the outline of his tattoo.

"I cannot see a future without you."  
She whispers her reply. He gathers her  
Into his arms. (Our tale is almost through.  
We insert this scene for each J/Cer  
Who has hoped for this image to occur  
For lo these many years.) They proceed!  
And for once there is no-one to impede!

Well, almost no one. For just as her lips  
Slide over his, and just as his warm palm  
Smooths down her back and strokes across her hips  
While she returns the gesture without qualm,  
Relaxing in the solitude and calm  
That let her be more daring with her hands  
Which he with only kisses reprimands,

A shrill sound interrupts their loving bliss,  
Making them stop and shudder with frustration.  
A call from Starfleet she cannot dismiss  
Formally calls them to the celebration  
To honor them and offer acclamation.  
This final duty must they now perform;  
Then each can strip out of the uniform.

All Starfleet brass are gathered in the square,  
Voyager's crew stands tall for inspection,  
Captains, Commanders, Admirals all there.  
Not one of them has had an objection  
To Janeway's most passionate protection  
Of her melded crew. All are commended,  
Each needed formal pardon extended.

Admiral Necheyev speaks at long length  
Of Starfleet's welcome, pride, and gratitude.  
Janeway's fleeting thought is "Give us the strength  
To face this final test." A last platitude  
And eventually the remarks conclude.  
They are free to go. This Trek is complete.  
But stay...what of our lovers so discreet?

Some quick communiques to family,  
Some hugs for friends, a few tearful goodbyes,  
The Captain and Commander finally  
Make their escape. Now they can fraternize!  
Regrettably, this poem cannot apprise  
The reader of their means of celebration,  
Which would betray our circumspect narration;

Suffice to say that when she takes the conn  
While he drops shields, gives the nacelles a lift,  
Breaching the hull with his equipment on  
A course to penetrate the subspace rift,  
Their homecoming is ecstatic and swift.  
Exeunt! Now our hero and heroine  
We leave in peace, only to imagine

That they will return quickly to their ship  
To explore further the vast galaxy,  
After embarking on a secret trip  
To honeymoon...we're betting they marry,  
And lest you think that we are too sappy  
We note that in this poetry we pen,  
Courtly love demands sap as tradition.

Now we have proven beyond any doubt  
With this epic tale in iambic rhyme  
The theory that all Trekkers won't freak out  
If relationships are forged in prime time.  
Technobabble, evil aliens, space crime  
Are included--next time, supernova--  
And in the scan of "La Vita Nuova."

So ends our saga of Trek and passion  
Our journey to another universe  
In which we have attempted to fashion  
A situation in which we reverse  
The minds of all Powers That Be averse  
To the pairing of Star Trek and Romance  
For fear it will the ratings not enhance.

To UPN we issue this challenge:  
Program for those television viewers  
Who are far beyond the age of Stonehenge.  
You might find then that Star Trek reviewers,  
Along with fans and network renewers,  
Will indeed begin to watch and will raise  
Voices to Paramount. Sing, Muse, in praise.


End file.
